He Nan forcefully coerced Wu Zuo, the head catcher, and several police officers into following him out. Except for the leader He Nan, the rest of the people felt the reluctance of their boss, and their faces were full of helplessness - they were going to get into trouble with Xu Yuanwai, the leading wealthy family in the area, not to mention staying up late and working overtime without a salary. Take it, but you don’t want to.
But He Nan didn't think so. This is a matter of life and death. Solving the case one day early can reduce a lot of unnecessary troubles in the future and even avoid the sacrifice of more innocent lives. However, he can understand the mentality of these people - although Zhou Xi is already in the county government Many officials and their lazy habits have been rectified internally, but it should be noted that the evil habits of Shuihan County were not developed in a day or two. Of course, complete rectification cannot be completed overnight.
Speaking of which, I have to bring out Mr. Li and Li Shitong again - although Mr. Li may not be very outstanding in ability, he is not a bad person, and his attitude as an official is worth flaunting as a role model. In addition, Zhou Lun The letter written to the governor of Fuyang County really played a big role, so Li Shitong was transferred to the county town by a transfer order and held a very important and important official position. Nowadays, Li Shitong's family no longer worships gods, Buddhas, immortals and ghosts, and only secretly places two plaques for worship - He Nan and Zhou Li.
Capt. Xing from Kui County was indeed very efficient in his work. In one day, he mobilized his troops and generals to collect confessions from many people around Yuan Er, and he really sorted out a lot of clues. The old man did not dare to neglect this person. He carefully inspected the two bodies and found many interesting details. Of course, He Nan was not idle along the way - his body would never move if his bones could move, but his brain would not relax for a moment.
According to the clerks at Yuan Er's tailor shop, Boss Yuan went out in a hurry one night. As for where he went - Boss Yuan's private matters did not need to be reported to them, and the clerks did not dare to ask. But the look on Yuan Er's face was really anxious, and as a result, he didn't come back the next day. Originally, this wasn't a big deal. Since Yuan Er stopped working by himself, he would often go out to purchase some silk fabrics, so the two It’s not unusual to be away from here for three days, but that night the proprietress, Yuan Er’s wife, went to the tailor shop to inquire about her husband’s whereabouts. You must know that Yuan Er usually reports to his wife when he travels far away, but this time his wife I don’t know where the person went. It wasn't until the government announced Yuan Er's death one day later that they knew Yuan Er had been buried in the river. After Yuan Er's wife heard the news of her husband's death, she cried and fainted on the ground, and she didn't wake up until midnight.
As for Xu Yuanwai's concubine, because her body was taken back to the house by Xu Yuanwai last night and asked for monks to perform salvation, she did not have time to examine her body carefully, but the old concubine still followed He Nan's instructions and examined her body - and The results of the examination were also very intriguing - not only did he confirm He Nanyou's fact about "this woman had a dog at home" based on the scars, but he also found that she had been violated before her death - this almost sadistic violation was obviously committed by more than one person. for.
After completely reading the autopsy results, He Nan suddenly sighed quietly: "I was thinking... is this woman really Xu Yuanwai's concubine?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the other people around him changed to varying degrees, and He Nan also understood something from it: "Don't look at me like this... You must also have such a guess in your heart, and what kind of person is Xu Yuanwai?" You know the situation much better than I do, don’t you?”
"Why do you make this inference? Besides, why did Xu Yuanwai pretend to claim the body?" asked an outspoken police officer. He was one of the people who accompanied He Nan to Erlong Village. After seeing He Nan's body, After that, I admired him very much, so I asked him this question.
"As a concubine, although I have to take care of the master's daily life, the thick calluses I saw on the woman's hands yesterday were obviously not left by doing chores. In my opinion, they are more likely to be accumulated by long-term and large-scale farm work. He came out. Other doubtful points such as bites and injuries cannot be used as evidence yet, but we will find out when we get to his house." He Nan said lightly, but he did not confirm it with certainty because there is not enough evidence now. : "As for why Yuanwai Xu pretended to claim the corpse...if he didn't have that weird, necrophilic habit, then it would probably be that he was replacing the old one with the old one."
Even so, several people could not understand the meaning of He Nan's words, especially the sentence "replacing flowers and trees, substituting beams and substituting pillars." The meaning was even more unclear, but He Nan didn't care if they could understand it, anyway, as long as Xu Yuanwai was willing to let him in. You will have the opportunity to prove your own ideas.
Yuan Xu's house was not very far from the county government office. It could be reached within a short time of a few people talking. There was no need for He Nan to call the door in person if there was a police officer, so he folded his arms and waited behind.
After a long time, Xu Yuanwai arrived late after being received by his servants. As soon as he saw everyone, he opened his mouth with a smile: "Xing Xingtou is fine. Why are you visiting me, Old Xu, tonight?" "
"This must be Yuan Wai Xu. He has admired your name for a long time. It's really extraordinary to see you today." He Nan took a few steps forward and walked up the steps, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yuan Wai Xu. He Nan was really shameless. He had only heard of Xu Yuanwai this evening, but he still said something shameless about someone he had admired for a long time: "It's not a big deal... I just came here to ask you for someone. Is there no problem?"
Member Xu looked at Capt. Xing with confusion: "Who is this...?" Seeing that this young man was only eighteen or nineteen years old, Member Xu really couldn't figure out who this person was.
Capt. Xing cleared his throat: "Cough, cough...Executive member Xu, this is the prison chief from the county." After two or three breaths, he added: "I'm here for the case."
"Oh, oh, it turns out to be the prison chief. Xu also heard that you came to the county, but he never thought that you were such a young hero. It is true that a hero comes from a young age. Sorry, disrespectful." After you sing, I will come on stage and compete. Even though he was telling lies, Xu Yuanwai did not hesitate to make more concessions, and even had the intention of surpassing He Nan - after all, he really didn't know what kind of prison officer He Nan was sent by the county government to investigate the case. He was just following the words of Capt. Xing. Just keep talking. "Just ask for whoever you want, and we will definitely cooperate." Xu Yuanwai seems to be a person who likes to make wisecracks, or he is quite good at getting close to each other. By the way, he also shows his majesty as the head of the family: " Even if these grandsons don’t dare to say anything, I still have to ask them to explain something more to Prison Cao He.”
"Oh, then you misunderstood. I didn't want to bring someone back today who could talk." He Nan gave a carrot and then changed his hand and hit it with a mallet: "The body in the concubine's room has been detected by us. This case has a lot to do with it, and according to the rules, the county government must take custody of the body first. I already gave you a free night last night, Yuan Xu, so I have to take the concubine back today."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Xu Yuanwai's face disappeared: "To be honest, Xu's concubine has been buried after today's salvation."
"Really? Then why do I smell such a strong smell?" He Nan arched his nose and deliberately made a "sniffing" motion.
"I'm afraid it's a little disrespectful to the deceased to behave like this..." Xu Yuanwai was already speaking through gritted teeth.
"Haha... Could it be that, Yuanwai Xu, you are just using the deceased as a cover to show respect?" He Nan confronted him tit for tat. He had to enter this door today.
Seeing the two masters on the steps who were both untouchable, the people below were also in trouble. However, after all, this was official business, so Capt. It is normal for people to be harassed after a breakup, but we are on official business, so please make it convenient for Mr. Xu."
After a long confrontation, Xu Yuanwai might have figured it out, so he snorted coldly and said, "Then come in with me."
He Nan arranged for two detectives to follow Wu Zuo to carry the body, while he took Captain Xing and followed Yuan Wai into the main hall.
"Since the matter has reached this point, I won't hide it from you." Xu Yuanwai slowly said: "The reason why I told that small lie and said that her body had been buried is because I was afraid that she would not be able to rest in peace after her death. , was desecrated."
"Oh? I really didn't expect that Mr. Xu was also a person who valued love and justice, didn't he?" He Nan said in a mocking tone, and then he changed the topic: "Then do you know that the concubine's room was respected during his lifetime? Perhaps it has been desecrated?"
"This... how is this possible?" Xu Yuanwai was stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized that the "concubine" He Nan mentioned was not the "concubine", so he pretended to be angry - at least in He Nan's eyes It was "pretending" - he slapped the table hard and shouted: "If it is really those beasts who did it, I will never spare them!"
"Oh? Which group of beasts?" He Nan's eyes lit up. Could it be that Xu Yuanwai really knew something?
Xu Yuanwai calmed down and said: "I see that Prison Cao He is young and his accent is not from the local area. He probably doesn't know what happened back then..."
About ten years ago, there once appeared a group of people in the east of Shuihan County and north of Shuolai County. They called themselves the "Thousand-faced Sect" - whether they are demons or alchemists, in short they are just a group of people. A group similar to a cult, they operate around this place in the name of worshiping gods and proselytizing, but in fact they worship a thing called the "Thousand-Faced Immortal" - why it is called a "thing" because it is difficult to use words. To describe what it is, although there is "immortal" in its name, the things its disciples and disciples do are no different from the actions of demons. From the name, we can know that this so-called Thousand-faced Immortal is ever-changing and has no fixed appearance. People in the Thousand-Faced Immortal believe that their Thousand-faced Immortal is immortal and can bestow this miraculous power on its believers, and this way of immortality It's "resurrecting the soul through borrowed corpses". Thousand-faced believers will regularly collect some people and cut off their heads to enshrine them in front of the faceless clay statue of the Thousand-faced Old Immortal. I have exhausted this person's life span and can survive in the world relying on this person's face." That is to say, I have one more life. And whoever cuts off this person's head and enshrines it in front of the faceless statue will be able to live one more life with this person's identity.
You said that this Thousand-faced Immortal sounds like nonsense. Can anyone believe it? Of course there are, and there are quite a few. There will never be a shortage of ignorant people in the world, and their yearning for immortality is the driving force for these people to believe in the Thousand-Faced Old Immortal.
Of course, the funniest thing is that those who truly believe in the Thousand-Faced Immortal are all ordinary believers. The leader doesn’t believe in the Thousand-Faced Immortal at all. He made this thing up by himself. Why do you say that? ——There is a rule in the religion that the order of sacrifices offered to the Thousand-faced Immortal must be a boy, a girl, a young man, a young woman, an old man and an old woman, corresponding to Shaoyang Shaoyin, Zhongyang Zhongyin, Zhongyang Zhongyin, etc. Lao Yang and Lao Yin - yes, they also made up a "Zhong Yang Zhong Yin" based on the four images. The people who are qualified to enjoy this kind of "immortal life" are naturally the high-level members. There are six people in each period. But how can you become a high-level member? Donate money. As for how long it will last, it is up to the leader to decide. As long as he is short of money, he can use the name of the old immortal to encourage these believers to actively make offerings, and then choose who can get the "immortal power" based on their "contribution". In addition to the so-called secret of immortality, if the woman being sacrificed is beautiful, she will inevitably be poisoned by these beasts.
Although there are many flaws in the theory of the Thousand-faced Immortal, only the "transformation of immortality" is easy to explain - if these immortal people unfortunately die, it can be said that their life span has expired and they have been reincarnated into others.
Of course, if someone who has been taken advantage of has overreacted, the Thousand-faced Cult Leader is not afraid - when these people kill people and sacrifice their heads, the Cult Leader will say "such and such a person sacrificed his head to the old immortal on such and such a month and day of such and such a year". The sentence is recorded in the book, which is a threat; secondly, the Thousand-faced Cult Master is also first-class in his ability to talk and talk. He returned all the money he had before to this person, and made an agreement with him that as long as they are the followers he has attracted, these people Donated money can be divided into 30-70 accounts, which is an inducement. It is precisely by relying on the eternal method of coercion and inducement that the Thousand Faces Sect has absorbed many such people and has become quite large.
All in all, the so-called Thousand Faces Sect is an evil sect that makes money through the theory of ghosts and gods and murders innocent people.
"...and the Thousand Faces Sect, which has been entrenched here for nearly ten years, also disappeared due to the severe drought six years ago, but it does not want to reappear in the world today." Xu Yuanwai told He Nan Of course, he didn’t know some of the secrets about the Thousand Faces Sect, so his words were ambiguous: “I think the several tragedies that happened in Kui County a few days ago were all caused by the Thousand Faces Sect. "
"Ah... Did Capt. Xing know about this?" After hearing this, He Nan looked at Lao Xing, who was sitting in the subordinate seat. If the Thousand Faces Sect was made up by an outsider named Xu, then Lao Xing should know clear.
Xing Captou shook his head: "I am a foreigner. I came here after a severe drought, so I have no impression of this matter."
He Nan was a little surprised by this: "You haven't even read the previous files since you came here?" In his eyes, when taking up a post in a place, especially for officials in charge of criminal investigations, it is best to first understand the local cultural environment. The way is to check the previous files in the local area. This is what his master and senior brother have taught him personally. It is considered common sense.
"Uh... it's my subordinate who neglected his duty." Mr. Xing hesitated. Back then, everyone in Shuihan County was living happily, who would have the leisure to do so. However, he had an idea and thought of something: "Our widower, Mr. Chen, is a native of Kui County. He has been working as an errand in the county government before. Maybe he knows this very well."
Talk about Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives. Old Chen Wuzuo hurried in with the two young catchers. Although he was older, his steps were full of wind in these few steps. He whispered in He Nan's ear: "Hey Prison Cao, the old man is now Now I understand what you mean by "substituting the body" - the body has been changed! The female corpse I took people to examine just now is not the one we have in our custody, but someone else. Except for the various marks on her body, it doesn't match her. The exterior is also much more decayed than the previous one... In addition, the female corpse that I saw just now has a slightly bulging belly. Either she had eaten a lot of indigestible food before she was alive, or she had been pregnant for four or five months."
After He Nan heard what Old Chen said, he winked at him to signal him to keep quiet, and then changed the subject: "Mr. Chen, just now Xu Yuanwai told us about the Thousand Faces Cult that was active here about ten years ago. ' story, the recent case may be the resurgence of the Thousand Faces Cult. Mr. Xing said that Mr. Chen, you are a local and can ask you for confirmation. I wonder if Mr. Chen knows whether this is true or not? "
Before he finished speaking, Chen Laozuo's face suddenly became a little ugly, but it only happened for a moment: "That's true."
He Nan nodded and said loudly to Xu Yuanwai: "It seems that Xu Yuanwai is sincere and does not deceive me. The Thousand Faces Sect is indeed very suspicious."
"Yes, in my opinion, it was the Thousand Faces Cult that ruined my concubine's life." Xu Yuanwai also said angrily.
"Okay, it's already late at night. Member Xu, please go to bed early. We won't bother you anymore." He Nan bowed his hand to Lao Xu, his attitude much more polite than before.
Two detectives pulled a cart with the woman's body on it. The Xu family's servants also helped to support it. He Nan and Xu Yuanwai walked in the middle, and finally Wu Zuo and Xing Captou walked at the end. People just walked towards the gate in a sparse manner.
"Mr. Xu, how expensive is Geng this year? I think you are quite strong." He Nan said as if chatting.
"No matter what, I have long been inferior to young people like you. I just celebrated my sixty-second birthday last month. Now I go to bed early and get up early. If you hadn't come tonight, I would have rested." Xu The member said humbly, He Nan was no longer aggressive, and the old man was a lot more polite.
"By the way, you, who has a big business, aren't you afraid of thieves? Don't you have a few dogs to guard the house?"
Xu Yuanwai had a look of disgust on his face: "That thing looks dirty and noisy, how can a servant use it? I like to eat dog meat, but I have never raised a dog."
"By the way, I almost forgot to ask, when did the concubine's room disappear? This will also allow me to judge her... Well, you know what I mean." He Nan seemed to have just remembered.
While Mr. Xu was rolling his eyes and thinking, the servant of the Xu family who was walking in front said quickly: "Mrs. Jin disappeared four days ago."
"Okay." He Nan stopped, cupped his hands towards Yuan Wai and said, "Just send it here." He turned his head to Captain Xing and several other detectives and said, "Yu Yuan Wai's family is ours. Important witness, in order to prevent the whole family from encountering any accidents, from now on you will personally lead people to guard the Xu Mansion and not allow anyone to enter or exit - remember, anyone. This is a death order, if anyone enters or exits without authorization - shoot to death. !”
Xu Yuanwai sent He Nan off with a happy face, but these words were undoubtedly like a basin of cold water pouring over him from head to toe. His face immediately became extremely ugly - it looked as if he had been stepped on and crushed again. Crushed sweet potatoes: "Hey Prison Cao! What do you mean?"
"Haha...it's nothing, just to protect your safety!" He Nan turned his head and looked at Yuanwai Xu, his eyes hanging sharply.
In an instant, everyone's expressions changed to varying degrees - except for one person. His expression had been ugly since a certain moment, as ugly as a rotten sweet potato that had been stepped on and crushed over and over again.
